Go right in over your head

Flexible: Homeowner Claire Rodger uses her new room as an additional playroom for her son and a place of respite and relaxation for herself.

Claire Rodger faced a dilemma. She and her son loved the home they were in, but it was cramped and after a recent separation, she couldn’t afford to move.

“If I wanted the same style of home, in the same area, I would be paying thousands of dollars more,” Ms Rodger said.

“If I had the same budget then I’d have to move far away from this beautiful spot leaving neighbours, community support and services behind as well as a beach lifestyle we have come to love.”

She couldn’t extend as there wasn’t the room but then she looked up and decided to open up her roof space.

Creating an attic out of the unused space added 30 per cent more floor space and a beautiful new light-filled room with skylights and windows. Thinking ahead she proposes to use this space as a consulting room should she go into private practice and spend more time at home with her son.

Currently she uses it as additional playroom for her son and a place of respite and relaxation for herself.

“It has become the most versatile room in my home. I didn’t think it was possible with the configuration of my house but it is amazing what you can do with a roof. I can afford to live in a house where I have actually increased the value. Win-win.”

The conversion was done by The Attic Group, a second-generation family company who are finding that many more people are turning to attic conversions as a viable option.

Liz Stewart, from the Attic Group said most people have no idea that their home has roof space or a cavity which can be opened up or added onto from the side of the roof.

“In most cases, people don’t utilise up to a third of abandoned roof space which is found not just in free standing homes but in apartments, workman cottages, skinny terraces and semi-detached homes.

“If you have roof, you have a room.

“With storage at such a premium and property prices going through the roof, this is exactly what people should do to add value to their own home. It may be as simple as adding a ladder to access an additional storage space or you can actually create some amazing rooms from home offices to guest quarters,” Ms Stewart said.

“Now with multi-generational living becoming the norm as young adults can’t afford to leave home, up to three generations live under one roof so this whole floor can become a parents or grandparents retreat.

“It is the most cost-effective renovation available to people who are trapped in houses which they have outgrown.”

Another benefit is that, because you are using the roof, the footprint of your home remains unchanged so you don’t lose your garden.

Budget: Attic conversions could be the most cost-effective renovation available to people who are trapped in houses which they have outgrown.